


The Two Things Connor is Afraid Of

by Sharcade



Series: The Two Things Connor is Afraid Of [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Fear, Fear of Heights, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Phobias, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Storms, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 11:24:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14976164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: Connor's two phobias come into light.





	The Two Things Connor is Afraid Of

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Две вещи, которых боится Коннор](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15061016) by [lotta_lostly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotta_lostly/pseuds/lotta_lostly)



"It appears as though the suspect ran from here," Connor began, pacing thoughtfully from the middle of the roof to the edge. "And jumped from this point."

"Yeah? And did it survive?" Hank questioned, folding his arms and watching from a distance.

Connor peered over the edge of the roof at the mangled scene of a suspect who definitely did not survive the fall. He felt his stomach drop, his systems immediately flaring up with the seemingly automatic instinct to  _back up_. He jerked backwards suddenly, blinking in surprise as he felt his hands tremble.  _Too high._

"Woah, you okay there?"

"The suspect did not survive." Connor said curtly, regaining his composure. "No human could survive a drop like that."

"You got a little jumpy for a second there."

Connor's pulse hammered in his ears. He wanted to get down from the roof. 

"A safety precaution," Connor insisted, fixing his tie. "Very few  _androids_ could survive that fall as well."

Hank eyed Connor suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. Connor swallowed, looking out over the city. He had to admit, the view from the rooftop was aesthetically pleasing, as long as he didn't take into account how high up they were. His stress level increased.

He took a deep breath.

"You scared of heights or somethin'?"

"Of course not." Connor corrected. "Androids do not experience fear."

"Deviants do!" Hank parroted, his voice mockingly imitating Connor's.

Connor huffed quietly and looked back out over the city, ignoring Hank as he carefully approached the edge of the roof again. He had to inspect the scene. 

"I am  _not afraid,_ " Connor insisted, looking over his shoulder at Hank. "I was built for work such as this."

"Okay asshole, look down then."

"I will."

"Okay, so do it."

"Alright."

"Look down."

"I intend to."

Hank tilted his head, leaning against a large fan unit on the rooftop as he watched Connor. Connor swallowed once again, taking a deep breath and looking down over the edge of the roof at the body below. 

His stress levels instantly jumped, his vision seemingly zoning in on the ground below him as all noise fizzled out, his mind completely overwhelmed by the sound of his own pulse and breathing. His eyes were wide, staring at the ground below him, and even though he was stationed firmly, he couldn't shake the hard pressing thought that  _he was going to fall._

Inhaling sharply, he quickly jolted back from the ledge, attempting to calm himself and his breathing. He closed his eyes tightly, quickly moving away from the edge of the roof and breathing steadily through his nose.

"Woah, you okay?" Hank started with newfound concern, hurrying over to Connor. 

"We're  _incredibly_ high up," Connor mumbled, looking up at Hank.

"You wanna get down?"

" _I'm not afraid._ "

"Yeah, yeah, sure, of course." Hank coaxed, "Obviously, but maybe we should get down anyway."

"We have to finish investigating the rooftop before we move to the ground."

A strong wind graced the rooftop, Connor noting that it caused him to stagger 0.4 centimetres closer to the edge. His stomach dropped and he quickly grabbed Hank's arms to steady his already almost perfectly steady form even further.

"You sure you don't wanna get down?" Hank asked, the concern in his voice becoming more prominent. "I can look around up here and you can check the ground level."

Connor hesitated, loosening his grip on Hank slightly as he considered his options.

"My probability of finding more evidence on the roof is 79%." Connor thought aloud, glancing at Hank.

"So  _I'll_ find it. You go downstairs."

"But-"

"That's an  _order_ , Connor."

Connor's shoulders sagged slightly, the android quickly nodding, clearly relieved to have a reason to get off of the roof. He glanced between Hank and the door to the stairwell slightly, Hank taking the hint and clapping his hand onto Connor's shoulder as he walked him to the door. Connor quickly opened the door, hurrying into the stairwell.

"Hey. Kid."

Connor paused, turning back and glancing at Hank, raising an eyebrow.

"You can tell me if you're afraid of shit, okay?"

There was a moment of silence before Connor responded with a curt nod.

"Understood, Lieutenant. Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Now get your ass downstairs and check out that fuckin' corpse."

"Affirmative, Lieutenant."

* * *

Hank had to admit, he liked bad weather. It was an excuse to stay inside, stay on the couch, watch some TV and drink for a night. He didn't mind thunder, he liked the low rumble of it sometimes, and he like the memories it was tied to. Memories of his son padding into his room on loud storming nights, crawling into bed with him and snuggling up close to him, as if Hank would guard him from anything a storm could bring.

He imagined that most people got over fears of storms when they got a little older and realized how unlikely it was that a storm would cause them any harm. He realized most rational adults would understand that.

Unfortunately, Hank had been harbouring an irrational manchild on his couch for the past few months now. 

The first oddity had occurred with a crack of thunder so loud and deep it practically shook the house, which Connor met with a serious jump and a yellow flickering LED. Hank had noticed this, it was fairly hard  _not_ to given the way Connor was usually so still when resting. He also noticed the way Connor's LED  _remained_ yellow, the android keeping his eyes fixed stoically on the TV as he subtly reached over and grabbed a throw pillow, hugging it close to his chest. 

"You good there?" Hank inquired, glancing over at Connor.

"I'm alright." Connor assured, though Hank noticed his grip on the pillow tighten as the thunder outside clapped loudly once again, Connor taking in a small, sharp breath of jolting surprise.

"You sure kid?"

"I'm alright." Connor insisted, his eyes flickering to the window for a moment.

"If you say so."

As if right on cue, another horridly loud crash of thunder shook the house, Connor's LED blaring red in perfect sync as he jerked slightly in surprise, drawing his knees up to his chest.

" _You're absolutely sure_ that you're alright?" Hank pressed, taking the liberty of moving slightly closer to Connor.

If anything that was a fatherly instinct in action.

"I-I'm alright." Connor repeated again, though his voice had a definite tremble to it.

"Okay kid." Hank mumbled, putting his arm over Connor's shoulders and pulling the android in. "Whatever you say."

Another shudder of thunder rattled the house. Connor, unsurprisingly, jolted once again, this time his hands shooting aside to cling to Hank's shirt, Connor's breathing picking up slightly.

"Is it the storm?"

"I-I am not afraid, if that's what you are implying."

"'Course not. Storm's supposed to go until tomorrow afternoon though."

"I am aware. I checked the forecast earlier this evening."

A few moments ticked by, the two huddled up on the couch as Hank rubbed Connor's shoulder gently, doing his best to soothe the boy without making it too obvious. Connor's knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around his pillow, his head rested on Hank's shoulder. The way he tensed with every sound of crashing thunder honestly made Hank pity him, but he wasn't about to voice that. 

"Alright, it's getting late as hell, I gotta get some sleep Connor." Hank yawned, removing his arm from Connor's shoulders and stretching.

Connor looked perturbed, frowning slightly and sitting up straight as Hank stood. 

"I should likely rest as well."

"You gonna be okay out here?"

"Of course."

"Even with the storm?"

"I am not afraid of the storm."

"Of course not."

Connor shifted slightly, lying down on the couch and glancing up at Hank. Hank gave him a quick nod, rubbing his eye and stalking off down the hallway towards his room.

"G'night kid."

"Goodnight Lieutenant.”

As soon as Hank was comfortably in bed, the TV long since shut off, he could hear Connor in the living room closing all of Hank's blinds. He could also hear the low rumbles of thunder outside, and the small breathy noises that Connor would make every time they occurred. Finally, a massive clap of thunder crashed outside, and Hank found himself more than unable to ignore the sharp whimper that came from the android in the living room.

There was a few moments of shaky silence before Hank heard the quiet sound of Connor walking down the hallway towards Hank's room. The door cracked open slightly, a small beam of light illuminating Hank's bedroom.

"Lieutenant...?"

"C'mere."

Connor didn't hesitate, hurriedly getting into Hank's bed and pulling the covers up to his chin, shuffling slightly closer to the lieutenant and tucking his head under Hank's chin. He clung lightly to Hank's shirt, his eyes closed tightly as he tried to block out all of his other surroundings. Hank sighed, putting an arm around Connor and rubbing his back.

"You're okay kid."

"I-I apologize for disturbing your sleep."

"Wasn't sleeping, don't worry about it."

"Can I make a request, Lieutenant?"

"Shoot."

"May I sleep here tonight?"

"'Course."

" _Thank you._ " Connor mumbled quietly, Hank honestly feeling touched by how genuine his appreciation seemed.

"G'night Connor."

"Goodnight, Lieutenant."

Hank closed his eyes, keeping his arm around Connor, feeling the way Connor's grip grew just a little tighter at every sound. Hank couldn't help but remember the feeling of Cole holding onto him, making Hank feel like he could do anything, protect anyone,  _keep his son safe._

"Th-Thank you." Connor repeated, his voice barely above a whisper.

Hank held him tighter.


End file.
